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On Monday, November 16, 2015 at 1pm EST, four alumni of the YES and YES abroad programs led the opening keynote of the sixth annual Global Education Conference. This is an annual free, week-long, online event bringing together students, educators, and organizations at all levels. The entire conference is virtual and takes place online in a webinar format. Sessions are held around the clock to accommodate participant time zones.

Catherine Cartier (YES Abroad Morocco 2013-2014), Hannah Foster (YES Abroad Malaysia 2012-2013), Meriem El Hilali (YES Morocco 2005-2006) and Mohana Thamilarasu (YES Malaysia 2010-2011) discussed “Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Exchange.” Through their exchanges, they have each spent one academic year in the other's home country. In their session, they discussed the experiences they had while studying abroad, what they learned from living in another country, and how they have utilized those lessons since returning to their home countries. Their presentation allowed participants to view exchange from two perspectives and witness global competence in action as they collaborated to share their countries and experiences.

Watch the recording of their presentation!

The Global Education Conference is a collaborative, inclusive, world-wide community initiative involving students, educators, and organizations at all levels designed to significantly increase opportunities for connecting classrooms while supporting cultural awareness and recognition of diversity and educational access for all. Last year’s conference featured more than 260 general sessions and 35 keynote addresses from all over the world with over 7,500 participants.